Europe must see it has nothing to gain from the PKK

We have the usual slew of condemnations and condolences from Europe after the twin bombings in Istanbul by a group attached to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which left 36 policemen and eight ordinary citizens, almost all of them young people, dead and 155 injured.

We have the usual slew of condemnations and condolences from Europe after the twin bombings in Istanbul by a group attached to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which left 36 policemen and eight ordinary citizens, almost all of them young people, dead and 155 injured.

Ask any Turk on the street if they believe these messages are sincere and you will get the obvious answer. The only exception is the apparently solitary voice of Tomas Zdechovsky, a Czech member of the European Parliament (EP).

Of the 751 members of the EP, Zdechovsky appears to be the only one who had the courage to come out and lay it on the line. He said on his Twitter account that there should be no more tolerance toward the PKK, which he said is like the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), adding that this group should be banned from the EP.

Zdechovsky in effect acted as a whistle blower – although whistleblowers usually reveal something that is not known – by pointing out that the PKK has access to the EP, even though it is listed as a terrorist group across Europe.

It is true that Turkey should be handling its Kurdish problem much more sensibly. The fact that this is not happening though does not give license to any government or institution in Europe to be lenient toward a group that kills indiscriminately the way it did in Istanbul over the weekend. 

Many countries in Europe openly allow the PKK to benefit from European law to promote their propaganda with impunity, collect funds – often by means of extortion – and recruit new militants for its campaign of terrorism in Turkey. 

We see this openly in key European countries like Belgium and Germany, who even allow the PKK to hold mass rallies and set up propaganda tents outside buildings where negotia-tions are being held with Turkish delegations.

Belgium for its part already has egg on its face over the case of Fehriye Erdal, a member of the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), a left-wing terrorist group. Erdal is wanted by Turkey for the killing of businessman Özdemir Sabancı and two of his employees in 1996 in Istanbul. 

She was provided a safe haven by Belgium for years and eventually allowed to disappear from that country. A Belgian prosecutor is now seeking a 30-year jail term for her in absen-tia, which is like a bad joke.

Regardless of the question of Turkey’s EU bid, one has to ask oneself what European countries that behave in this manner hope to gain from gaining the enmity of the Turkish people and of the Turkish state. 

The question of Turkey’s EU membership is a moot point at this stage. Developments over the past few years alone clearly show, however, that Turkey and Europe are forced to co-operate in a host of areas, including the fight against terrorism – to the benefit of both sides.

How can European leaders hope to achieve this when groups unmistakably associated with the PKK can operate freely in their countries and enjoy what amounts to the benefit of official support on the basis of shady arguments? 

By the same token how much moral authority can European countries have when they accuse the government of Turkey of being soft on groups they consider to be Islamic terror-ist organizations, when Turkey can just throw the book back at them with examples of how the PKK, either directly or through its proxies, is being allowed to operate freely in those countries?

The PKK will continue to be a thorn in the side of Turkey’s ties with Europe with debilitat-ing effects for both sides. If there are those who believe that they can keep Ankara at bay in this way, or that they can protect themselves from PKK attacks on their territory by turning a blind eye to this group, they are playing a dangerous game. 

Using terrorist groups as covert instruments of policy will not benefit anyone in the end. The fight against terrorism is an area that requires close cooperation and coordination be-tween serious states if this scourge is to be eradicated. Until that happens the only ones to gain will be terrorists.